LONDON, June 1 /PRNewswire/ — In an unusual collaboration, globe
trotting conductor
Charles Hazlewood, ‘the face of classical music on the
BBC’ (Daily Telegraph) and
Deborah Meaden, investor and star of Dragons’ Den,
have announced a weekend of world-class, classical music with a high octane,
contemporary twist. Called ‘Play the Field’ (http://www.playthefield.co.uk),
the family-friendly festival will take place on Hazlewood’s farm in Somerset
on Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 August 2009 (August bank holiday).

As host and conductor, at each concert Hazlewood will introduce an iconic
piece of classical music with one of his orchestras, the London-based
symphony orchestra Excellent Device! and the period instrument orchestra Army
of Generals, fresh from their starring role alongside Hazlewood in his recent
BBC2 TV series. Saturday’s performance will also include a special
performance by his team of Glastonbury regulars the All Stars, featuring
Will
Gregory from Goldfrapp and
Adrian Utley from Portishead.

“It’s wonderful doing concerts in places like New York and London, but I
feel a responsibility to also bring my work home, to bring world-class,
classical music to Somerset,” said Hazlewood. “Somerset desperately needs
more high-end music making on its doorstep, so the chance to share great
music spanning genres as diverse as orchestral classics, trip hop and jazz,
in the utterly relaxed and cathartic environment of a Somerset field, is for
me the fulfilment of a long-term dream.”

Deborah Meaden said: “Meeting Charles when I was a guest at the first
night of The Proms, which he was presenting, I was immediately caught by his
ability to engage and enthuse about the music in an inclusive way. He
certainly re-kindled my love for the music. We laughingly call ourselves “the
odd couple”, maybe not an obvious collaboration between “the conductor and
the Dragon” but we share the same vision, just with completely different
talents, what any good Partnership should be!”

Excellent Device! will open on the Saturday with a curtain-raising
performance of
John Adams’ Short Ride in a Fast Machine, followed by an
exploration of Holst’s stellar masterpiece The Planets, but in a way this
work has never before been experienced, a radical re-evaluation of a British
classic. In between Holst’s seven individual planets, the All Stars will
improvise spontaneous electronic responses, featuring elements sampled from
the orchestral planet just played, allowing the audience to re-experience and
re-engage with Holst’s material. As well as members of Goldfrapp and
Portishead, the All Stars also include
Graham Fitkin on piano,
Tony Orrell
providing percussion and sampling of the orchestral music and jazz
saxophonist,
Jason Yarde.

On Sunday 30 August, there’s an unique opportunity to spend the afternoon
discovering the culinary delights on offer at the local produce food market,
whilst listening to the period instrument orchestra, Army of Generals and
Russian violin virtuoso
Alexander Sitkovetsky rehearsing for what promises to
be a truly breathtaking evening performance of Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons.
The Sunday event explores painting with sound, through Vivaldi’s iconic
depiction of life across the year and Haydn’s three symphonies, which
describe morning, noon and night. Hazlewood will introduce the rehearsals and
all performances from the main stage, opening up the inspiring music for the
assembled audience.

2009 is the International Year of Astronomy, not only celebrating the
400th anniversary of Galileo using a telescope for astronomy, but also the
40th anniversary of man landing on the moon in 1969, hence the choice of The
Planets. Play the Field will mark the occasion with telescopic star gazing at
both concerts, further details to be announced.

Note to editors: Play the Field will take place just outside of Keinton
Mandeville in Somerset. Gates open at 6pm on Saturday 29 August, the musical
performance starts at 7.30pm and finishes at 10.30pm. On Sunday 30 August,
gates open at 2pm for a unique opportunity to listen to the open rehearsals,
including Russian violin virtuoso
Alexander Sitkovetsky. The evening
performance starts at 7.30pm.

Tickets, including early bird discounts available until mid-July, are on
sale now and can either be bought online via a link athttp://www.playthefield.co.uk, by calling +44(0)1225-463362 or in person from
Bath Festivals Ticket Office, 2 Church Street,
Abbey Green Bath, BA1 1NL

Early bird tickets cost GBP22 for an individual ticket, GBP65 for a
family ticket and GBP20 each for groups of 10 or more people. Under 13′s are
free and there’ll also be a ‘Pay what you can’ scheme for local people living
within 2 miles of the farm. Further details at http://www.playthefield.co.uk